


Chicken Soup for the Immortal Soul

by sleepymarvel



Series: HOA One-Shots [4]
Category: House of Anubis
Genre: Gen, Season/Series 01, Sick Character, Unrequited Crush, trudy is the main POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:41:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29725014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepymarvel/pseuds/sleepymarvel
Summary: Trudy recalled something he’d said to her on her first day.Don’t let them see your weakness.She laughed when he’d said that to her, because she figured he must’ve been joking, but he just made a face and continued giving her a tour of Anubis House.Reupload.
Series: HOA One-Shots [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1755970
Kudos: 4





	Chicken Soup for the Immortal Soul

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys. so my account was hacked and this story was deleted. I’m re-uploading for anyone who liked it and wants to be able to still read it. thank you! 
> 
> Enjoy! <3

It was day three of Victor having some sort of mysterious flu and as Trudy made her way up the staircase to his office, she was reminded of something her mother always told her when her father would become ill.

_Men are babies when they’re sick._

Victor certainly wasn’t the exception to this phenomenon, despite the fact that he insisted on staying in his office all day and night to work on God knows what. _Stubborn man._

“Knock. Knock.” Trudy said brightly, as way of greeting, standing at the door to Victor’s office with a tray of hot chicken soup and chamomile tea. “Feeling any better, Victor?”

Victor groaned. He was sitting inside his office with the lights out, looking to Trudy very much like an old vampire sitting alone in his Victorian castle. The collar of his jacket was even up in a fashion that resembled Dracula. Trudy bit her lip to keep from smiling. The children definitely had their fantasies, but Victor didn’t help much by being so secretive and ominous. It was too bad he was feeling under the weather. Otherwise, Trudy would consider cracking a joke (good-heartedly of course) at his expense. 

“I’m dying, Trudy.” Victor said, monotone and dramatic.

Trudy flipped on the lights in his office and frowned. He was as pale as a sheet and had dark bags underneath his eyes. She almost wanted to remind him that he _did_ have a room with a bed where he could rest. But then again, it wasn’t as if he’d listen. 

“Oh shush. It’s just a fever. You’ll be fine.”

Victor just groaned some more as a response. There was paperwork everywhere, lots of Egyptian hieroglyphics and scribbles in notebooks. And so he was certainly sick, because every other time Trudy had been in his office, he’d conspicuously shuffled all his papers back into his desk.

It had never bothered Trudy too much. As a fan of novels with mysterious older men in big houses, Trudy just thought of it as endearing. Sure Victor was a grumpy old man, but he was _her_ grumpy old man to deal with. In sickness and in health or something like that. Was that just for married couples or did that apply to house mothers too?

Trudy set the soup and tea down beside him on his desk, briefly making eye contact with Corbierre. The stuffed raven stared back at her with it’s dark black glass eyes. For some reason, the raven’s gaze left a bad feeling somewhere between her throat and her stomach. Like butterflies. Maybe she was coming down with something too.

“Don’t let those miscreants touch my things when I’m gone. Burn it all if you have to.” Victor said, still dramatic as ever, snapping her out of whatever trance Corbierre had caught her in.

He was looking up at her through sweat slicked hair and he certainly looked like a kicked puppy. It was a good thing she brought him her miracle cure chicken soup when she did, Trudy thought. It always helped the students when they weren’t feeling well. Occasionally, Alfie would even feign sick just for the chicken soup. Maybe she’d save some of the leftovers for the student’s dinner later. With a side of biscuits. 

“Those kids do care about you, you know.” Trudy said and Victor scoffed, “I hear they’re even making you a get well soon card. It’s very sweet of them. It was Fabian and Nina’s idea. But all the kids are writing in it.”

“No thank you, Trudy. I have no time for death threats.”

Trudy actually did smile at that. As long as she had known him, Victor had always been such a drama queen. Firing her was a good example of this, but Trudy had no hard feelings about it.

“I wouldn’t worry about _that_.” Trudy said, an edge of laughter still in her voice, “Eat your soup, sweetie. It’ll help.”

Trudy half expected him to wave her off, because he had always hated it when she called him _sweetie_ , even though she called everyone that, and usually he would just scowl and continue with whatever mysterious task he was working on in that moment.

“Thank you.” Victor said instead, weakly, catching Trudy off guard.

Maybe he said it just because very rarely had anyone brought him soup when he’d been sick, especially not his father, or maybe it was because he was ill and not thinking straight, but Trudy blushed without thinking. Thankfully, Victor seemed oblivious to this particular occurrence. 

Maybe his having a bit of the flu wasn’t such a bad thing, Trudy thought. She could count on one hand the amount of times that she actually got a thank you out of him.

“Well, it’s not a problem. I know I’m meant to help the students but if you need anymore Tylenol or tea I’m here.” She paused, still standing beside his desk, caught off guard by a photograph lingering in the papers that he’d usually stash away at the sight of her. And yes, she knew she was being nosey, but she just couldn’t help it. The women in the picture was just so _stunning_.

“Who’s this?” Trudy asked, eyes on the antique looking photograph on his desk. It was a vintage and black and white picture of a young women with her arms outstretched in the middle of a large rose garden. She was smiling big and wide at whoever was taking the photo. Her smile was warm and familiar.

Victor snatched the photo off his desk and shoved it back into one of his desk drawers. “Nobody. Just an old friend.”

“Well, she’s gorgeous.” Trudy said and she meant it.

“She’s dead.”

Trudy’s heart sunk. Okay, so that didn’t go the way she thought it would. Beneath them they could hear the students filing in the front door as they returned from school.

Victor straightened at the sound of them, trying his best not to look like the kicked puppy that Trudy had just brought chicken soup, and Trudy recalled something he’d said to her on her first day. _Don’t let them see your weakness._

She had laughed when he’d said that to her, because she figured he must’ve been joking, but he just made a face and continued giving her a tour of Anubis House. It was sort of sad how he thought the students were out to get him. What could have possibly given him that idea?

”Oh. I’m _so_ sorry Victor.” Trudy said quickly, trying to salvage the situation. She felt so terrible for mentioning the picture. They were having such a good moment. She was just trying to be conversational. _And the photo was so old._ “I just thought that–”

“Trudy, don’t you have something you should be doing?” Victor said his voice closely resembling the impatient tone he’d use when his walls were raised. Trudy once again made eye contact with Corbierre. “Preferably elsewhere. I’m _extremely_ busy.”

“Yes. Right.” Trudy hated that she sounded so dejected. She thought of the biscuits and the chicken soup she was going to serve the students for supper. And had she left the stove top on? She’d been so distracted with taking care of Victor that it had escaped her mind. Why had he taken up such a large portion of her thoughts so suddenly? How had she let herself become so flustered? “Sorry. Again. Feel better.”

Trudy left his office without turning back and made her way back down the staircase and back to the dining area. Standing by the bottom step Alfie, Fabian, and Patricia were passing back and fourth Victor’s _Get Well Soon_ card as if it was made of poison ink.

“Well _I’m_ not giving it to him.” Patricia said, crossing her arms. “It was Nina’s idea. She should be the one who has to hand it over.”

”Nina has to stay at the school for extra credit work.” Fabian said. The fact that she was passing while missing so many classes for mystery related shenanigans was a miracle in and of itself. 

”Yeah convenient.” 

“You’d think Victor could just drink some of the elix—” Alfie began, practically choking on his words at the sight of Trudy decending the stairs with her empty tray. “—cough syrup. Oh hi, Trudy. What’s up?”

”Oh hello sweetie.” Trudy said, distracted and replaying the previous encounter over and over in her head, “We’re having chicken soup for supper tonight.” 

“Yes!” Alfie exclaimed, “And I don’t even have to pretend to be sick!”

Trudy chuckled, still distracted, and made her way past them and into the dining area.

“Did she seem off to you?” Fabian asked after a moment.

”Maybe Victor initiated her into his cult.” Alfie said, lowering his voice to sound spookier. “ _And she’s a zombie now._ ”

”That’s not funny Alfie.” Patricia said, smacking her friend on the shoulder. “Trudy would never do that to us. She’s on our side.” 

“So was Mr. Winkler. Then Victor zombified him.” Alfie said and Patricia shot him a death glare. 

”Whatever. Can somebody just give Victor the card so we can get back to figuring out the puzzle pieces and saving Joy.” Patricia said, “I vote Alfie.”

”Patricia’s right. Plus I promised Mick I’d help him with...something.” Fabian handed off the card to Alfie and made a hasty exit.

”It’s my turn to help Trudy with dinner.” Patricia quickly added and sped off towards the dining area.

”It wasn’t even my idea!” Alfie protested, but it was too late. Patricia and Fabian were gone, leaving Alfie with the cheesy _Get Well Soon_ card. He sighed, defeated, and made his way up the stairs to Victor’s office.   
  
Later that night, as Trudy was making her way past Victor’s office and towards her room, she noticed the _Get Well Soon_ card sitting on his office desk beside Corbierre. She knew he’d deny it if she asked, but he definitely liked the card. Plus, she didn’t see him in his office. He must’ve actually decided to go to bed for once. _Thank God._


End file.
